Savanta ComRes has published some new polling on partygate. It suggests more than half of voters do not trust the Metropolitan police to investigate partygate, and more than half of voters think fines would be too lenient as punishment for breaches of the Covid rules.
This comes as Sue Gray’s report now reportedly set to be published this week after Met says no need to hold material back.
The Times is reporting this as definite. “Sue Gray, the civil servant investigating lockdown breaking parties in Downing Street, still intends to publish her report this week despite a police investigation into potential criminality,”
Here is an extract from the Savanta ComRes news release:
Half (51%) of the British public say that they do not trust the Metropolitan police investigation to uncover whether Coronavirus rules and regulations were broken at a series of lockdown get-togethers in No 10 Downing Street according to a snap poll by Savanta ComRes.
And although two in five (42%) say that they do trust the Met’s investigation, only 8% say that they trust it “a great deal”.
The investigation by the Metropolitan police is likely to only have the power to issue fines to those it finds have breached Coronavirus regulations, and a majority (59%) of the public say that this is too lenient, including 42% of 2019 Conservative voters. A third (32%) of the public say that fixed penalty notices are about a fair punishment.
The poll also suggests 67% of people think Boris Johnson should resign – “although this figure is practically unchanged from earlier this month when the prime minister admitted to briefly attending a BYOB drinks event in the Downing Street garden while Britain was in its first full lockdown”, Savanta ComRes says.
Government officials have handed over images of alleged parties in Downing Street to investigators, Sky News reports.
The photographs, seen by Sue Gray, are believed to feature Boris Johnson and show people close together with wine bottles.
From Sky News’ deputy political editor, Sam Coates tweeted:
Sky News understands that officials have handed over to investigators photos of parties in Downing Street which include images of Boris Johnson
Sue Gray was given the pictures of people close together with wine bottles.
— Sam Coates Sky (@SamCoatesSky) January 25, 2022